Lassa Fever in West Africa - Coursework Example

Lassa fever has greatly impacted the West African region because of certain factors like its history, epidemiology, and chain of infection. However, with an accurate clinical diagnosis and using management techniques, the virus is capable of being controlled or even being diminished and the health of individuals infected in the West African regions improved (Buchmeier, Torre & Peters, 2007). It is estimated that deaths caused by Lassa fever in West Africa range between the gap of 5000 to 10,000 out of two million cases of Lassa fever cases reported yearly.

The majority of the highest percentages of death reported are documented to be from West Africa. This implies that for every death caused due to Lassa fever, West Africa is the region that is mostly affected. Diagnosis of Lassa has proved to be a challenge for the government and clinical officers in West African countries, therefore making it extremely difficult to determine the mortality rate associated with the Lassa virus (Pasqual, 2011). In addition, due to difficulty in the diagnosis of the virus, many individuals affected with the virus rarely seek treatment in hospitals or associated institutions like clinics.

Moreover, the prevalence of diseases in some countries is brought about by rodents. These places are high-risk areas and spread to a larger population for example Mali (Dworkin, 2011). Lassa fever is characterized by delays caused by cellular immunity which is responsible for fulminant viremia. The rates at which Lassa fever is reported in West African countries like Sierra Leon is 8-15 percent, Guinea4-55 percent, and Nigeria 21 percent. Conversely, in other parts of West African countries like the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal, the cases of Lassa fever reported here are considered to be seropositivity.

This means that cases of Lassa fever act as positive serum reactions because of the presence of antibodies in the body.